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There will be life after Auston Matthews. The drop-off in talent from the presumed first overall pick in June is not nearly as dramatic as it has been made out to be, scouts say.

The No. 2 selection could be a difficult choice between Finnish forwards Jesse Puljujarvi and Patrik Laine and American winger Matthew Tkachuk of the London Knights.

“The spread isn’t large, but Matthews is a notch above (everyone else),” said Dan Marr, the director of Central Scouting for the NHL.

“We think the top three have clearly separated themselves,” said Dennis MacInnis, the chief scout of Independent Scouting Service. “There’s a clear break after those top three (Matthews, Puljujarvi and Laine) down to the next tier, which runs about a dozen deep — from No. 4 to No. 16.”

There’s weakness at the bottom of the draft, from about the 75th pick on, but that’s the least of the concerns for teams jockeying for the high picks. The team that finishes last has a 20 per cent chance of selecting first, the best odds possible. Of course, that also means the team has an 80 per cent chance of picking somewhere else.

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With the second and third overall picks also subject to the lottery, it means a team could potentially draft three spots from its position in the standings when the season ends. So strength at the top of the draft — i.e. the consolation prizes for those who see their hopes of drafting Matthews dashed — is particularly important for rebuilding teams.

“The first round is deep,” Marr said. “The first 10, 12 players are really good. Your top 50 players are pretty good prospects. They are legitimate NHL prospects.”

The Star canvassed four influential talent evaluators — Marr, MacInnis, Mark Seidel of North American Central Scouting, and retired scouting legend Jack Ferguson — for their opinions on the players at the top of the draft.

Without question, Matthews is the “it” player in the NHL draft. He fit right in playing in the men’s league in Switzerland, where he set a precedent in being a North American teenager playing overseas in his draft year. He was the captain of the American team at the world junior tournament in December and he was named to the U.S. team for the world championship in May.

If Matthews had been eligible for the draft last year, most believe he would have gone third behind Connor McDavid and Jack Eichel. So who does he compare to now?

“He’s every bit the player Nathan MacKinnon is,” said Marr, comparing Matthews to the top pick in 2013. “He’s going to be like the Seguins and the Halls and the MacKinnons, a top player that is going to impact sooner rather than later, like he proved he could this year. He’s been on that path.”

Matthews could also be a poster boy of another sort, the first player from commissioner Gary Bettman’s Sunbelt strategy to go first in the overall draft. The Arizona Coyotes would love to have a chance to draft the native of Scottsdale, Ariz.

The NHL will release Marr’s rankings on April 12. The lottery for the top three picks in the draft is scheduled for April 30.

Matthews is the Star’s pick to go No. 1. Here is a look at our next five:

No. 2: Jesse Puljujarvi

Think Evgeni Malkin. Puljujarvi (six-foot-three, 201 pounds) has the edge over Laine, but ever so slightly. MacInnis believes Puljujarvi has what it takes to play centre, even though he has been on the wing in his two years playing against men in Finland’s top league (13 goals, 15 assists in 50 games). If he can do it, his value would rise. Not all are for it. “The temptation might be to make him a centreman but I like him as a winger,” Seidel said. “He controls the walls, keeps it simpler for him to produce offensively. They may try, but I’d keep him on the wing.”

No. 3: Patrik Laine

Laine (six-foot-four, 209 pounds) and Puljujarvi were like twin towers of power at the world junior championship, playing on Finland’s top line while winning the gold medal. Laine is a sniper (17 goals, 16 assists in Finland’s top league) who can create plays from very little. “He’s a big kid that plays the right way,” Seidel said. “He has shown exceptional vision. He’s willing to go into traffic and win battles.” Marr believes Laine to be a dangerous scoring threat. “He’s got a variety of shots, and he’s got a good shot,” Marr said. “He can score from just about anywhere on the ice.”

No. 4: Matthew Tkachuk

Think Corey Perry. Already the talk has begun that if the Leafs don’t get the first overall pick, their next choice would be Tkachuk (six-foot-one, 195 pounds) and they could trade down from the second or third spot and still get him. There’s a lot to like about the hulking, playmaking and goal-scoring son of former NHLer Keith Tkachuk, a power forward in his day. McInnis believes Tkachuk (30 goals, 77 assists) is destined for a 15-year career “but he needs to play with a playmaking centre.”

No. 5: Alexander Nylander

The younger brother and roommate of William Nylander has had a wonderful offensive season in the OHL with the Mississauga Steelheads. While William is all about poise and playmaking, Alexander (six feet, 172 pounds) has more grit to his game. “He’s real good, maybe a little bit more rugged than his brother was at that age,” Ferguson said. The younger Nylander (28 goals, 47 assists) has got to learn about risk-reward, said Marr, adding “his skill level and the speed at which he plays the game, at the junior level, it’s quite phenomenal.”

No. 6: Jakob Chychrun

On the surface, the six-foot-two, 214-pound Sarnia Sting defenceman looks as if he took a step back, or at least sideways, in his draft year. Chychrun’s numbers (11 goals, 38 assists) are OK, but not great. But a regime change in Sarnia, which led to co-owner Derian Hatcher moving behind the bench, might explain part of it. “A lot of strange things happen on the way to the draft, there are circumstances that players go through,” Marr said. “What he did in his underage year, that was real. That’s a real player.” Ferguson remains a big backer. “I’d go second on him,” Ferguson said. “Where are you going to get a defenceman that size that can play?”

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